#maylin

It didn’t take Klaus long to read the writing on the walls. He noticed the change in her as quickly as it happened. Esme was always the excitable one of them, and he knew he was the boring one. He couldn’t sweep her off his feet like he had hoped to. If her siblings were to be believed, he never even stood a chance.

“Why not, I don’t know, talk to them?! Instead of sitting with me and bringing down the mood of the room.”

Klaus looked up from his beer, “No one asked you for your opinion, Ignacio. You made your stance very well known, just like your brother.”

Ignacio’s green eyes rolled, “Ok first of all, neither of us said that you can’t date them. I said that if Amelia ever showed up again, you’d have strong competition. Second of all, Hector told you to keep away from Esme because he’s our older brother and that’s just what they do. Do you really think Gilbert wouldn’t try to threaten Esme?”

Klaus glanced across the room to watch as Amelia fell out of her chair laughing at something Esme had said.

“Look, I’m not going to get between them. Amelia, as irritating as she is, makes Esme happier than I’ve ever seen. It’s not my place to try to mess that up for the two of them.”

Ignacio groaned loudly, tossing their head back, “Ugh! You’re infuriating! You like Esme, if you don’t say anything, how do you expect her to even make a choice?”

Klaus sighed, turning away from Esme as she attempted to help Amelia stand, laughing so hard that they both fell again.

“Kid, I don’t want to get between them. I can get over my feelings. I’d rather be her friend than ruin what we have. I already don’t get along with Amelia, I don’t need to add to her list of reasons not to get along with me.”

Ignacio frowned, spinning in his chair before yelling across the room, “May! Mr. Klaus here has a crush on you! Come do something about it before Hector or Amelia does!”

Before Klaus could process what was happening, Ignacio stuck their tongue out at him before rushing off and laughing, “Call me kid again Klaus and I won’t be so nice!”

Klaus was frozen in place as he realised his life was going to get much more complicated. He couldn’t even be angry at Ignacio due to the overwhelming sense of dread building within him at the very idea that his friendship with Esme would end here. He’d lose his home, his job at the cafe, and everything he worked hard to build with her.

“Klaus?”

Klaus jumped at her voice, “Maylin, I’m so sorry about Ign-”

Her laugh was enough to ease him, “Klaus, no need to be so formal. You know I prefer to go by Esme. Now what was Nacho yelling about?”

He watched as she sat beside him, in his peripheral vision he caught sight of Amelia glaring at him from her seat.

“It’s nothing.  They were just mad and messing around. You know how Ignacio is.”

She raised a brow in confusion before shrugging, “Alright, if you say so. Do you want to join me and Amilia? We were making fun of her brother Victor, I know how much you enjoy making fun of him too.”

Klaus chuckled, “No thank you. I’m actually waiting for Leon and Rurik, we’re going to go meet up with Bach. He’s insisted on catching up.”

He watched her nod before she returned to Amelia. He was relieved that she had believed him.